Expansible ledger-file



B. E. McSHEEHY.

EXPANSIBL'E LEDGER FILE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-23. I918.

Patented Apr. '26, 1921. r

INVENTOR By Aitorneys, 8 mm zoom/{Q W2 WITNESS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BARTHOLOMEW E. MOSHEEHY, OF HUNTINGDON. PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR '10 J. C.

BLAIR COMPANY. OF HUNTINGDON, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVAN IA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 23. 1918.- Serial No. 268,890.

1 '0 all whom, it may concern Be it. known that I, BAR'IIIOLOMEW E. MCSHEEHY, a citizen of the United States of America. residin in Huntingdon. in the county of Huntingdon and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Expansible Ledger- Files, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its purpose to provide an expansible ledgen file, characterized primaml by the facility which which it can be user, and likewise by the low cost attending its manufacture.

The invention is intended for use either with a series of independent cards, or with leaves of a ledger, loose leaf or otherwise, I

where the cards or sheets are adapted to be supported on edge, to permit an accountant to transfer data from different pages successively. To accomplish this effectively, it is customary to support the card or sheet which is in use, at an angle or inclined to the remaining cards from which it is spaced, and which are held in a generally vertical position. This enables the operator to separate any particular card from the others, and position it for ready observation.

Obviously, a support must be provided for the card in use, and the support must maintain the card or cards at an angle or incline to the vertical. Various methods have been pro osed for accomplishing this purpose, and t e aim of the present lnvention is to afford a file or case with an adjustable side wall which can bepositioned vertically to provide a compact container for the cards or sheets, and when records are to be taken from the cards, or the latter are otherwise to be used, the wall can be adjusted to an inclined position with reference to the remaining part of the case, thus affording a convenient su port against which a sheet can be positione to read from it.

In general, the invention may be said to consist of a container or case having a bottom and oppositely disposed stationary side walls, with reference to which a movable wall is adjustable. The movable wall is preferably hinged to the bottom of the container, although it may be otherwise supported, and carries right-angled extensions or side pieces which cooperate with stops upon the stationary side walls. This is for the purpose of limiting the inward and outward adjusting movements of the movable wall, which is also combined with suitable locking means for holding it normally in closed or vertical relationshlp to the stationary walls. Preferably, the structure is arranged with opposite adjustable walls, the Sl( e pieces or extensions of which overlap one another. and when the movable walls are adjusted outwardly to the inclined position, said overlapping side pieces serve as continuations of the stationary side walls of the case. x

T 0 these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

Figure l is a perspective View, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, and showing two adjustable side walls, one in its outermost position and the other in its innermost position, with a series of cards or sheets positioned against the inclined wall.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing in dotted lines, the positions of the adjustable walls when moved outwardly to their inclined positions, and

F ig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of he structure which I am about to' describe in detail is intended only by way of example of a possible way of carrying out my improvements, rather than as confining the invention to any specific adaptation, since itis possible to devise other forms of the invention that may accomplish the purpose in an equally effective manner. The arrangement shown consists of a box or case having two opposite fixed walls and two .opposite movable walls.

A. designates the bottom of the container, while B are the stationary side walls. The adjustable walls are designated by C', these being movable inwardly or outwardly, with reference to the stationary walls B, so as to assume either a vertical position, as shown in full lines, or an inclined or an ular osition, as shown in dotted lines, in ig. 2. he walls C may be variously supported for adjustment, and preferably are mounted upon the bottom A in hinged relationship.

Patented Apr. 26, 1921. I

This may be accomplished by connecting each adjustable wall C and the bottom A by means of a flexible hinge D of suitable fabric or other material which may be conveniently attached to the respective surfaces by luing.

The adjustable walls G are preferably, although not necessarily, disposed between the stationary walls B, each of the walls C being provided with wings or right-angled extensions E, located parallel to the stationary walls B. In the embodiment shown, it will be seen that the extensions E of the opposite adjustable walls overlie one another. When an adjustable Wall is moved outwardly to its inclined position, the 'extensions E serve as continuations of the fixed 'walls B. as shown at the right of Fig. 1.

It is quite essential to definitely fix, or limit, the inward or outward movements of the walls C, and to this end, the latter are provided with cut away portions,- preferably consisting of curved slots 1* which cooperate with stops connected to the fixed walls B. The stops may be in the form of headed rivets or fasteners G attached to the fixed walls B. It will be observed that the central stop fastener G is common to both of the movable wall members, and en ages sirable to retain the adjustable walls in their vertical, or closed positions, when the contents are not in use, and various devices may be utilized to accomplish this. One way which I have found satisfactory, is to provide a conventional snap fastener, the cooperating parts of which are secured to themovable and fixed walls, as designated at H and H. Thus, when the adjustable wall is moved into its vertical position, a slight pressure is all that is required to lock it to the fixed wall and hold it securely in the closed position, and when outward adjustment is desired, the movable wall is freed by a slight separating pressure between the adjacent surfaces carrying the locking parts.

When the contents of the case are not in use, the adjustable sides are moved to their vertical positions and locked, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, thus adapting the file to be readily stored or carried. When it is necessary to transfer data from any of the cards or sheets, or to examine the latter, one or preferably both of the adjustable walls are released and moved outwardly, as shown in Fig. 1, and the cards or sheets supported thereagainst in an inclined position. This permits examining the cards with great facility, and enables any particular card in use to be positioned, against one inclined wall and thus separated from those against the opposite inclined wall, the two groups maintaining their proper spaced relationship, so that the cards on one side cannot fall over upon the card or cards in use.

The structure is admirably adapted for ledger and other bookkeeping sheets or records. also for card indices or card digests, and can be modified to accord with various requirements. It is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the precise arrangement and details here disclosed, but may be modified, as, for instance, by omitting the fixed side walls, and connecting the opposite movable walls with each other, to form a reduced or expanded container, without departing from the purposes of the improvement, or the scope of the following, claims.

I claim as my invention 1. An expansible file comprising a bottom, oppositely arranged fixed side walls, and oppositely arranged movable walls hinged to the bottom and adjustable from vertical to inclined positions, the movable walls having right-angled wings or extensions, the wings of one movable wall overlying the wings of the other movable wall, said wings having slots cut therein, stops secured to the fixed walls and engaging said slots, and locking means cooperating with the movable and fixed walls and acting to retain the former in Vertical position.

2. A file comprising a bottom portion, upright portions hinged at opposite sides of said bottom portion, so as to swing outwardly from a vertical to an inclined position, means to limit said movement. and means to lock said uprights in their vertical positions with the top of the file open to expose its contents.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

BARTHOLOMEW E. McSHEEHY. 

